Getaway: Land of the Water Horse -- exploring Scotland's Loch Ness region

Wednesday

Dec 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 26, 2007 at 9:43 AM

I have never knowingly seen a ghost, never been kidnapped by aliens, and in all the tramping and trekking I've done, I've never come across anything that remotely resembled the missing link. Yet I find myself perched on a bluff overlooking Loch Ness, double-checking every ripple and shadow, hoping against all hope that a mythological creature called Nessie really does exist.

Joe Yogerst

I have never knowingly seen a ghost, never been kidnapped by aliens, and in all the tramping and trekking I've done, I've never come across anything that remotely resembled the missing link. Yet I find myself perched on a bluff overlooking Loch Ness, double-checking every ripple and shadow, hoping against all hope that a mythological creature called Nessie really does exist.

And I am not alone. Tens of thousands of people flock to the famous Scottish Highlands lake, hoping they will be blessed with a Nessie sighting. And the number will no doubt grow substantially with the release of ``The Water Horse,'' a film version of the beloved children's book by Dick King-Smith about a Scottish boy who discovers a rather large egg on the shores of Loch Ness that eventually hatches into a cute little plesiosaur.

There have been stories for years, going all the way back to 565, when Saint Columba reportedly drove away a water monster by making the sign of the cross over Loch Ness. Norse and Celtic folklore embraces several mysterious water-dwelling creatures, including a sea serpent called the Orm and malevolent kelpies (a.k.a. water horses) that would seize fishermen and drag them into the depths never to be seen again.

But the Nessie phenomenon did not hit fever pitch until the 1930s when the lakeshore highway between Inverness and Fort Augustus was completed. Monster sightings skyrocketed, research parties were dispatched to find Nessie, and a local doctor snapped the famous black-and-white photo of a long-necked dinosaur swimming through the lake.

A legend was born.

And so was local tourism. The photo was later revealed as a hoax.

The village of Drumnadrochit on the lake's western shore is Nessie central, home to half a dozen gift shops, several large plaster plesiosaurs that provide a backdrop for countless snapshots, and two multimedia museums centered around the world's most famous aquatic dinosaur.

In typical screwball Hollywood fashion, a lake in New Zealand - not Scotland - played Loch Ness in ``The Water Horse.'' But many of the movie's key scenes were filmed in and around Ardkinglas Estate to the south of Loch Ness, a sprawling Edwardian manse and gardens that can be visited by appointment.

People don't visit Loch Ness just for the mythical monster. The long, thin lake is gorgeous, surrounded by thick forest rising to rocky outcrops and heather-covered plateaus. Best viewed from the water, of course, in boats like the Deepscan, which took me on an hour-long cruise down one of those glorious Highland days when there isn't a cloud in the sky.

The boat dropped me at a dock below Urquhart Castle, its stone ramparts and towers crowning a bluff above the lake. One of the largest castles in Scotland, the 13th century fortress witnessed many a bloody encounter between the English and Scots.

On another day, I drove inland from the lakeshore to Glen Affric, one of the few spots in the highlands where the ancient Caledonian Pine forest survives. Following a meandering path through the woods, I made my way along whiskey-colored streams and beneath cloud-shrouded mountains in the upper glen, on the lookout for the otter, pine martin, the majestic red deer and other local wildlife.

Yet all of this incredible nature and fascinating history continues to live in the shadow of an imaginary dinosaur, an irony that does not escape local writer and researcher Adrian Shine, the world's leading expert on Nessie and a consultant on ``The Water Horse.''

``I was a true believer when I first started,'' says Shine. ``But lack of scientific evidence has led me to conclude there is no Nessie. But there are more than 1,000 people out there - the many who have claimed to have seen the creature - who would beg to differ.''

Exploring the lake by submarine, sonar and various other means, Shine has been able to disprove most of the sightings as wakes, waves, shadows, vertical blasts of air and other natural phenomenon. Still, he allows for the possibility that the creature may very well exist. ``One binding thing about all the people who come to Loch Ness is that we would all very much like for there to be something there.''

And so I on my visit, I continue to scan the lake every chance I get, scrutinizing every wake and shadow, hoping that I will be the one to finally, undeniably prove that the water horse of lore is more than just a legend.

TARTAN TINSELTOWN

Numerous flicks have been filmed in Scotland over the years - including in beautiful outdoor locations that can easily be reached by car.

Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning ``Braveheart'' (1995), an epic action adventure about Highland hero William Wallace, was filmed largely in the Glen Coe and Glen Nevis valleys in the western Highlands, not far from Loch Ness.

With its stark beauty and dramatic landscapes, Glen Coe has also been featured in films ranging from Alfred Hitchcock's ``The 39 Steps'' (1935) to the kilt classic ``Rob Roy'' (1995) and the sci-fi blockbuster ``Highlander'' (1986), one of the few movies that Scottish icon Sean Connery has made in his own homeland. (Connery was born in Edinburgh in a tenement now occupied by the Fountain Brewery).

Nearby Glenfinnan also features prominently in the ``Highlander'' saga, as the birthplace of main character Connor MacLeod and the spot where much of the later television series of the same name was filmed. Glenfinnen also makes a brief but memorable appearance in two ``Harry Potter'' films (``Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' and ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'') as the place where the Hogwarts Express crosses a mighty railroad bridge.

The 1954 Gene Kelly musical ``Brigadoon'' was long the archetype of tartan film, the story of a Scottish village where the sun shines but one glorious day every century - though the movie was filmed in California, not Scotland.

``Trainspotting,'' the movie that launched the career of Ewan McGregor, was filmed in Edinburgh and Glasgow. McGregor hails from the tiny town of Crieff in Perthshire.

Where To Stay: The four-star Craigdarroch House Hotel on the eastern shore of Loch Ness (room rates from $240 for two including breakfast; www.hotel-loch-ness.co.uk) or the Lovat Arms Hotel at the lake's south end (from $140 for two including breakfast; www.lovatarms-hotel.com).